Full text of King Mohammed VI’s speech on the occasion of Throne Day, July 2024

Agadir24 | Agadir24/A.M.E

His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, addressed this Monday evening a speech to his loyal people, on the occasion of the glorious Throne Day, which coincides with the twenty-fifth anniversary of His Majesty’s accession to the throne of his auspicious ancestors.

The following is the text of the royal speech: “Praise be to God, and prayers and peace be upon our Master, the Messenger of God, his family and companions. My dear people,

Today, we proudly celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of our accession to the throne. During these years, we have achieved, thanks be to God, many gains and accomplishments in the field of political and institutional reforms, and in consolidating the Moroccan identity. We have also launched many economic and development projects, and social programs, to achieve social cohesion, and enable citizens to access basic services.

We also worked to consolidate territorial integrity and strengthen Morocco’s position as a significant player and a responsible and reliable partner at the regional and international levels.

My dear people,

What we have achieved gives us self-confidence and hope for the future.

However, the challenges facing our country require more effort, vigilance, creative solutions, and governance in management. The most important of these challenges is the water problem, which is becoming more severe due to drought, the impact of climate change, and the natural increase in demand, in addition to the delay in completing some of the projects scheduled within the framework of the water policy.

Six consecutive years of drought have had a profound impact on water reserves and groundwater, making the water situation more fragile and complex. To address this situation, which many regions, especially in rural areas, are suffering from, we have instructed the competent authorities to take all urgent and innovative measures to avoid water shortages.

We continue to stress the need for optimal implementation of all components of the National Program for the Supply of Drinking Water and Irrigation Water 2020-2027, which has contributed, thank God, to alleviating the severity of the water situation.

Given the increasing needs and constraints, we insist on the need to continuously update the mechanisms of the national water policy, and to set a strategic goal, in all circumstances and conditions, which is: to guarantee drinking water for all citizens, and to provide at least 80 percent of irrigation needs, at the national level.

In this context, the dam construction programme must be completed, with priority given to dam projects planned in areas experiencing significant rainfall.

In accordance with our voluntary and ambitious strategic perspective, we call for accelerating the completion of major water transfer projects between water basins: from the Oued Laou and Lakous basins, to the Oum Er-Rbia basin, passing through the Sebou and Bouregreg basins.

This will allow us to benefit from one billion cubic metres of water that was being lost to the sea.

These projects will also provide a balanced spatial distribution of national water resources.

It is also necessary to accelerate the completion of seawater desalination plants, according to the programme set for them, which aims to fill more than 1.7 billion cubic metres annually.

This will enable Morocco, by 2030, to cover more than half of its drinking water needs from these stations, in addition to irrigating large agricultural areas, which will contribute to strengthening the country’s food security.

This is similar to the Casablanca desalination plant, which will be the largest project of its kind in Africa, and the second in the world to operate 100 percent on clean energy.

The biggest challenge remains to complete the scheduled stations and the renewable energy projects associated with them within the specified timeframes, without any delay. Because water production from desalination plants requires supplying them with clean energy, it is necessary to expedite the completion of the electrical interconnection project to transfer renewable energy from the southern regions to the center and north as soon as possible.

In this regard, we call for working to develop a national industry in the field of water desalination, and creating departments to train specialized engineers and technicians; in addition to encouraging the establishment of specialized Moroccan companies in the construction and maintenance of desalination plants.

Here we reaffirm that there is no room for any negligence, delay, or mismanagement in a fateful issue such as water.

My dear people,

In the face of the efforts made to provide water for all, we must be honest with ourselves about rationalizing and optimizing water use: because it is unreasonable to spend tens of billions to fill water resources, while in return, the manifestations of waste and misuse continue. Preserving water is a national responsibility that concerns all institutions and activities. It is also a trust in the necks of all citizens.

We call on the competent authorities to be more firm in protecting public water property, activating the water police, and reducing the phenomenon of excessive exploitation and random pumping of water. We also strongly call for more coordination and harmony between water policy and agricultural policy, especially in periods of scarcity, while working to generalize drip irrigation.

In the same context, we call for the adoption of a more ambitious program in the field of water treatment and reuse, as an important source to cover the needs of irrigation, industry, and others.

Finally, we would like to emphasize the need to encourage innovation and invest in what new technologies offer in the field of water management.

As for the southern regions of the Kingdom, the water desalination plants that have been completed have contributed strongly to the economic and social development of the region. Therefore, we are directed to expand the Dakhla station and increase the production capacity of other stations in the future; this is done by relying on the great potential of clean energy that these regions have.

This is in response to the needs of the population and the requirements of productive sectors, such as agriculture, tourism, industry, and others.

My dear people,

Caring about the internal situation of our country does not make us forget the tragedy experienced by the brotherly Palestinian people.

As Chairman of the Jerusalem Committee, we worked to open an unprecedented route to deliver urgent food and medical aid to our brothers in Gaza.

In the same spirit of commitment and responsibility, we continue to support constructive initiatives aimed at finding practical solutions to achieve a tangible and permanent ceasefire and address the humanitarian situation.

The deterioration of the situation in the region requires moving away from the logic of crisis management to the logic of working to find a final solution to this conflict, according to the following perspective:

First: If reaching a ceasefire in Gaza is an urgent priority, it must be done in parallel with opening a political horizon that will ensure a just and lasting peace in the region.

Second: Adopting negotiations to revive the peace process between the Palestinian and Israeli sides requires blocking the way for extremists, from whatever side they may be.

Third: Establishing security and stability in the region will not be complete except within the framework of the two-state solution, in which Gaza is an integral part of the territory of the independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

My dear people,

Contributing to the development of the homeland, and defending its supreme interests and just causes, is the responsibility of all citizens, both male and female. Here we would like to express our pride in the efforts made by all vital forces and national activities, in the public and private sectors, for the progress and development of the country.

We cannot fail to express our special appreciation and gratitude to all components of our Royal Armed Forces, the Royal Gendarmerie, the Territorial Administration, the National Security, the Auxiliary Forces and the Civil Protection, for their dedication and constant mobilization under our leadership, to defend the unity, security and stability of the nation.

We also pray with reverence for the pure souls of the righteous martyrs of Morocco, foremost among them our venerable grandfather and father, Their Majesties King Mohammed V and King Hassan II, may God grant them a blessed resting place.

The best conclusion is the Almighty’s saying: “And God sends down water from the sky and revives the earth with it after its lifelessness.” God Almighty is Truth.

Peace be upon you and the mercy of God be upon you “.